David Viens survived cliff fall and has been arrested over her 2009 murder

The husband who is suspected of murdering his wife 16 months ago and threw himself off an 80ft cliff after a police chase buried her remains underneath their restaurant, authorities say.

David Viens, 43, who survived the fall last Wednesday in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Dawn, 39, in October 2009, after his alleged suicide attempt.

The floors and walls of the Thyme Contemporary Cafe in Lomita are being excavated with pickaxes, shovels and cadaver dogs by authorities hoping to solve the mystery of what happened to Mrs Viens.

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Where is she: David Viens, 43, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife Dawn, 39, after allegedly running away from a police chase. Authorities now believe he buried her body under their California restaurant

Viens may have remodelled the café with new floors and walls to conceal his wife’s body after killing her at their former home where blood stains were allegedly found, officials said.

‘At this point we believe she is
buried beneath the restaurant, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
‘We are excavating parts of the restaurant. We expect to be there for
some time.’

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He may have buried his wife's body in freshly poured concrete, investigators said.

Detectives have also been searching his mother's home in Lomita, his brother's plumbing business in Gardena and the home he shares with his girlfriend in Torrance.

Body search: Police excavated the Thyme Contemporary Cafe but found no trace of Dawn Viens

He claims his wife ran away to the mountains from their restaurant 16 months ago after an argument over whether she should go for drug rehabilitation.

But
authorities were suspicious because of ‘inconsistent statements’ he
gave and the fact she left behind her wallet, mobile phone and other
personal belongings.

His new girlfriend, Kathy Galvan, then
took over Mrs Viens’s job and moved into her home, before he was seen
throwing out his wife’s belongings into a dustbin behind his restaurant,
police said.

Cover up?: Police say he may have remodelled the café with new floors and walls to conceal his wife's body but his daughter believes he may have cooked her

He survived the fall last Wednesday but suffered critical injuries and was arrested on suspicion of murder at Harbor UCLA Medical Center on Monday, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Viens was placed in an induced coma and recently had a breathing tube removed.

Last week the case was upgraded from a
missing person to homicide, after it was revealed detectives allegedly
found blood splattered on the walls inside his home last November.

Fliers were sent out reporting Mrs
Viens was a missing person who may have been murdered, and detectives
developed enough information to identify him as a suspect in her
killing.

Suicide bid? The cliffs near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes in California. Viens jumped over cliffs in the area as he was being chased by police, falling 80ft, but 'amazingly' survived

House: The home formerly shared by Dawn and David, into which he moved new girlfriend Kathy shortly after Dawn's disappearance. When David and Kathy moved out, police searched the house and found blood splatters

Police had been looking for him when they saw Viens and his new live-in girlfriend, Kathy Galvan in his car on a road near the coastline by Point Vicente Interpretive Center near Rancho Palos Verdes.

He sped off to a lighthouse car park, jumped out and began grappling with Ms Galvan before officers tried to intervene. But Viens broke free and seemed to purposely leap off the cliff to the beach below.